!!!Liechtenstein, Fürstenfamilie

Liechtenstein, Princes von und zu; named after  Liechtenstein castle near Moedling (Lower Austria), which remained family property until the 13th century and reverted to the family again in 1807. Hugo von L. was first mentioned in a document in 1140; the Murau branch of the family, to which the minnesinger  Ulrich von Liechtenstein belonged and which died out in 1619, acquired property in Styria in the 13th century as well as Mikulov (then Nikolsburg) in Moravia in 1249, which remained in their possession until 1945. From the 13th to the 15th century, members of the L. family held offices at court (Johann I, 
d. 1397, was Controller at the court of Duke Albrecht III; was 
accused of high treason in 1394 and lost all his fiefs). At the 
beginning of the 16th century, the family split into 3 branches, of 
which only the Feldsberg branch survived. The ascendancy of the family 
began with the three brothers Prince Karl I  Liechtenstein, 
Maximilian (1578-1643) and Gundackar (1580-1658; all living members of 
the family descend from him). In 1606, it was ruled that the family 
property was to be entailed, and huge territories in Moravia were 
acquired. In 1719, the territories at Schellenberg (acquired in 1699) 
and Vaduz (in 1712) were given the status of imperial principalities 
under Anton Florian L (1656-1721). In the 18th century, his nephew 
Prince Joseph Wenzel  Liechtenstein made a name for himself as a 
diplomat and military commander; in 1772, the family received 
considerable property in the area around Prague. Franz Joseph I 
(1726-1781), his son Alois I (1759-1805) and his brother 
Johann I Joseph Duke  Liechtenstein had important economic and 
cultural functions. Johannes II Duke  Liechtenstein (1840-1929) 
supported research in the fields of art history, archaeology and 
history as well as charitable activities; Prince Alfred  Liechtenstein 
and his brother Prince Aloys  Liechtenstein were politically active. 
With the end of the monarchy, the role of the L. family changed 
profoundly: What remained was the principality of Liechtenstein and 
the administration of their fortune. The fortune lost in 
Czechoslovakia in 1919 and 1945 was substituted mainly by the 
foundation of the Bank of Liechtenstein in 1921. In Austria, the 
family owns woods in Styria, including tree nurseries and 
timber-processing plants, one of the biggest agricultural enterprises 
in Lower Austria (vineyards) and various houses in Vienna.

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The Majoratshaus in the first district of Vienna (Bankgasse 9) is 
the Viennese residence of the prince. The four-winged, four-storeyed 
house was built according to plans by D. Martinelli. In 1694 it was 
bought by the family, who renovated the ballrooms and the salons on 
the second floor in 1836-1847. Today the building accommodates offices 
and flats. The summer palace in Rossau in the ninth district of Vienna 
(Fuerstengasse no. 1) was begun according to plans by D. E. Rossi 
from 1691-1694 and continued from 1700 with alterations by D. 
Martinelli, the outer buildings were finished by 1711; the fresco on 
the hall ceiling was painted by A. Pozzo ("Apotheosis of Hercules", 
1704-1708); 1979-2000 the building has housed the  Museum of Modern 
Art Ludwig Foundation.

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In 1938, Prince Franz Josef II (1906-1989) came into power and 
moved to Vaduz; his son Prince Hans Adam II (b. 1945) continues 
his father's tradition ( Liechtenstein - Austria).

!Literature
J. von Falke, Geschichte des fuerstlichen Hauses L., 
3 vols., 1984; E. Oberhammer, Der ganzen Welt ein Lob und 
Spiegel, Das Fuerstenhaus L. in der fruehen Neuzeit, 1990; G. 
Schoepfer, Klar und fest - Geschichte des Hauses Liechtenstein, 
%%sup 2/%1996; F. Smola, Die fuerstlich Liechtenstein´sche 
Kunstsammlung, doctoral thesis, 2 vols., Vienna 1998; NDB.



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